Motionlab Active Commute bag

The Motionlab Active Commute is an innovative bag designed to keep weight off your shoulders, but isn't ideal for use on a road bike and could be better for more general use.

• Pros: Design keeps weight/straps off the shoulder, loads of storage
• Cons: Not very versatile, not ideal for road cycling, expensive

One of the elements of commuting by bike that can be a bit annoying is having to use a bag. It adds extra weight not only in terms of the additional weight to push forward, but also puts strain on your back and shoulders as you ride. The Motionlab Active Commute aims to remove some of that discomfort by redistributing the weight.

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The way it works is by having a secure central column and a strong waist strap where the majority of the weight is held. This is then helped by a firmly held central clip holding the two straps together in front of your chest. It's all built around a metal frame to make sure the weight stays off your shoulders and on the waist strap.

It works well in this regard, as once I had spent around 20 minutes setting it up on my back it kept the top of the frame about three fingers above my shoulder and all the weight was taken by my waist and lateral forces on the straps. I've never used a bag like this before and it is impressive how the weight is shifted so significantly.

In order to set it up you need to set the height of the waist strap and adjust four straps holding the front straps in place. This is considerably more complicated than traditional bags, but Motionlab has a few useful videos online showing you how it's done.

Off the bike, the bag manages to maintain the weight distribution away from the shoulders. I did a couple of short runs with it as a test and it is noticeably more comfortable on the shoulders than a traditional bag, but in order for it to work effectively the straps need to be very tight, which caused me a bit of pain on the sternum from the large chest strap and a lot of pressure around the waist too.

On the bike it has mixed results. On a road bike, when you're quite stretched out, the weight doesn't all sit on the waist – some of it is repositioned to the thin central back pad, causing a little more pressure on the centre of the back than you would get with a regular bag. This is slightly exacerbated by the basic motion of road cycling if you rock laterally slightly as you pedal; the bag shifts sideways more than a regular bag would, as it sits further from the back with only a little support on the back itself.

I do most of my riding on a road bike, but I also tested the bag on a more casual bike with a more upright riding position. This alleviated the issue of weight distribution and kept the straps off my shoulders, but, as with running, in order to do so the straps had to be uncomfortably tight, which put quite a lot of additional pressure on my waist and chest.

I also found that on a few occasions when the bag was heavily laden, the top of the frame would bash my shoulders on rougher roads; this can be rectified through adjusting straps, but it is a bit of a faff to have to adjust the bag depending on what's inside it. It also means that the already tight straps need to be even tighter for a heavier load, meaning even more pressure on the chest and around the hips.

The frame also means the bag isn't particularly practical for use between commutes, because you can't just sling it on your back – it always needs to be done up to sit comfortably. I would lock my bike 100m down the road from my office then have to fully strap up or have the frame uncomfortably sat on my shoulder for a two-minute walk.

The bag does come with regular straps, but using them requires entirely dismantling the frame, which takes 20+ minutes of fiddly strap removal without instructions, which Motionlab is in the process of creating.

Inside the bag there is loads of useful storage and I found that I could fit everything I needed for the day within it. There are two large main compartments, a shoe compartment, pockets for tablets and laptops and two small front pockets in addition to a pouch on each side of the bag. It's an impressive and diverse range of options.

Weight-wise, it's surprisingly light given the amount of metal used throughout the frame. At 1,160g it's lighter than many larger traditional bags, such as the Craft Cadence at 1,230g, although the similarly sized Altura Thunderstorm is 760g, but doesn't have the same kind of robust internal structure.

It's an expensive bag too, even if it does have some unique selling points. The Craft Cadence is £69.99, the Altura Thunderstorm £79.99.

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Overall, I have mixed feeling about this bag. It has some strong points in terms of engineering and having it kept off the shoulder is impressive, but its design doesn't lend itself well to road cycling, and to make it work properly when running or riding a casual bike requires excess tightening of the straps. It has some great storage options and plenty of pockets for everything you need, but it would be nice if it was a little more practical for day-to-day use.

Verdict

Innovative bag for casual riding or walking/running, but expensive and not as versatile as some